Students from the City of Bath College have launched a massive online fundraising campaign to fund their first feature film.
The Moving Image students at the College have just over a month to raise £2,000 to pay for the comedy-thriller they will write, produce and edit.
The class of 16 students aged 16 to 20 will spend a week as a professional film crew on location at a 19th Century Gothic revival manor house in the Quantock Hills.
It is thought to be the first time a College has produced a final year project of this scale so the students will be one step ahead in their film careers.
The hour-long film will tell the story of a group of students who one-by-one go missing in mysterious circumstances.
Students are appealing for people to be involved in the “unique part of cinematic history” by digging deep into their pockets through the Crowdfunder website.
Incentives for those pledging money include film credits, premiere tickets, production still prints and tickets to the after show party.
City of Bath College principal Matt Atkinson kicked off the donations this week by pledging £50 on the film project’s Crowdfunder web page.
Lecturer in Media Production Ed Powell said the feature film would be a lasting legacy for the College.
He said: “We want to create a really professional set-up to make it as authentic as possible for students.
“All cast and crew will be students and we are looking at four-and-a-half days of shooting.
“We want to help prepare students for the workplace and their future careers. It’s an ambitious project and nothing like this has been done before, but we’re going for it.”
Students were initially asked to pitch their film ideas to a panel of industry experts. They were given just 10 minutes to run through their ideas, including concept, lead characters and twists.
The work of student Paddy Hall was selected and the finishing touches are currently being added to his script.
The film has a working title of ‘Cliché’ and students will soon be interviewed for the variety of roles.
The £2,000 target will cover all production costs, bed and board at Quantock Lodge near Bridgwater, expenses and new equipment to improve filming quality.
Filming has been penciled in for a week at the end of March with Performing Arts students playing the main characters and the film premiere will be at the Little Theatre in June.
Members of the public are urged to donate whatever they can and students are planning further fundraising events such as auctions, quizzes and sponsored events. They have so far raised nearly £200 and a fundraising deadline of 20th January has been set.
Student Michael Pearce, 18, who has got his eye on the director’s role, said it was an exciting and ambitious project to make students “step outside their comfort zone.”
He said: “It’s an amazing experience to be involved in, it’s going to be brilliant, I’m really looking forward to filming.
“It’ll be great to see our names in the credits and be able to add this to our portfolios.”
Student Jared Exton, 17, said: “There will be a lot to learn and it will be hard work but that’s just like any film set so we need to get used to it.
“I’d urge people to donate money so they can be part of this creative process. They will be making a crucial contribution to learning and education.”
To make a donation, go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bladudfilm/. For more information, look for Bladud Film on Twitter and Facebook.
